Marketing, advertising & media intelligence

It's certainly not the sexiest of products, but that hasn't stopped Blu Tack's colourful little monster from capturing the attention of Kiwis and taking out Colmar Brunton's Ad Impact Award for January.

"There is no doubt that this ad ticks all the boxes for great branding," says Colmar Brunton's Harriet Dixon. "It integrates both the product and brand into the story of the ad really well. This little monster is certainly distinctive and aids impact by focusing consumers’ attention on the product, showing just how versatile Blu Tack is. Great impact and branding leads to an outstanding response, with one of the highest persuasion index scores we’ve seen. It really makes consumers want to get their hands on some Blu Tack, maybe to get creative and make one of these little guys for themselves."

Michele Freeman, Bostik New Zealand's marketing manager, says Bostik has its own marketing departments in different countries and and whilst Bostik (which is a multi-national) does have a global marketing strategy, there is flexibility to allow creativity within each country as to what the local marketing department can do with its advertising budget. But a TV campaign is fairly unusual for a single Bostik product in New Zealand (Blu Tack, which is one of Bostik's strongest consumer brands in NZ, is made by Bostik Australia, but it didn't have any current TV ads for Blu Tack over there because TV media is very expensive. As TV media was more affordable here, it was able to create the TV campaign).

Al Dickman from production company Three Wise Monkeys came up with the idea for the stop motion monster and it was created by Trevor Hardy of Foolhardy Films, who, along with Dickman, has worked with the famous Aardman Animation studio in the past. This spot is part of a series of 15 second ads that ask the question 'how do you Blu Tack?', and Freeman says the others were "very much a team effort," with Bostik's managing director coming up with the idea for the ad involving a bit of wall-shaking sexy time.

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It’s no easy feat to cut through the noise in the cosmetics aisle at the grocery store, but spotting a hole in the market, Earthwise Group managed to do just that. We take a look at this year's best emerging brand/business.

Couldn't agree more. It's everyone's problem now but brought on mostly by selfish farming practices. Rather than trying to get everyone behind it, they should be reporting on what they are doing to clear it up and provide regular updates.

1. Pollute waterways 2. Deflect blame to the general public This is definitely a 'you' problem, DairyNZ. The rest of us already do want clear waterways... that's kind of the point. Manifesto advertising doesn't work when your brand is trying ...

Genius From Elsewhere

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John Lewis has called on Elton John for its Christmas spot this year, telling a story of how the musician found a love for music. With some questioning the intent of the spot, considering John’s upcoming tour, Adweekinvestigates how it all came to be.

2

An empowering wheelchair, a simple sofa and genius pantyhose are among Time’s 50 Best Inventions of 2018. The full list has now been shared online.

3

The National Business Review and its publisher Todd Scott have threatened to sue Newsroom for an article believed to defame NBR and Scott. The article in question covered former finance minister Steven Joyce's legal complaints over a Matthew Hooton column. According to Newsroom's report, NBR is demanding the article's removal, an apology and $15,000 towards costs.

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While supermarkets and department stores deck the halls with their Christmas adverts, Burberry has gone for a more minimalist, yet star-studded video this year. The fashion brand opts to steer clear of that warm fuzzy festive feeling.

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With all industries in Britain still in the dark about what a post-Brexit future holds, the Advertising Association and the Creative Industries Federation have weighed in on the subject. The Drum reports the AA is running a campaign to ensure the UK creative sector can continue to flourish regardless of what happens next.

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